Week in Post: CMC impersonators, NED worries, and a Team GB gold medal winner

The man on the other end identified himself as working for National Accident Helpline and began his scripted patter by telling me how he wanted to help someone [he obviously did not know who exactly] in my [unnamed] family who had recently been in a road traffic accident.

He told me my details had been passed on by my motor insurer, but when asked which one, he just reeled of a list of household names he allegedly worked for.

I persisted in pushing this point, and eventually the cold caller hung up, deciding I was not going to play the game and was having way too much fun to be suckered in by his lies.

Of course, National Accident Helpline publicly promotes the fact that it does not cold call, but it would seem that there is a growing - and worrying - trend for dubious CMCs to impersonate their more reputable rivals that spend millions on television to promote their brands.

Could you imagine someone phoning up pretending to be from Direct Line with a great household deal, or Compare the Market offering a new exclusive toy with a fantastic motor insurance offer, when no such cover - or cuddly animal - existed?

One hopes they would soon be weeded out and stamped on by a combination of the regulator and the impersonated firm's fraud departments. But with CMCs, most people shrug their shoulders because that is how they expect all CMCs operate.

The point about all of these businesses being tarred with the same brush is picked up and expanded in an interesting blog this week, which responds to another piece by Axa's David Williams earlier this month.

In his blog. Qamar Anwar, managing director of First 4 Lawyers, comments that insurers and the claimant community need to work together to eradicate fraudulent claims, adding a "handful of rogue companies give genuine legal services businesses a bad name".

This might mean I have less fun on a Saturday morning enjoying a bit of ‘bants' with a cold caller, but it would also result in less spurious claims entering the system, which is win-win for everyone.

Elsewhere on Post, Zurich confirmed it was going to shed 20% of 1900 executive jobs across the group as it looks to continue its turnaround. And two other firms seeking to return to former glories had mixed weeks: Towergate announced £4.9m in savings in its half year results, and Slater & Gordon predicted losses of A$1.01bn (£587m) for the past financial year.

In other news, speculation is mounting that AIG is in discussions to sell its shares in Ascot Underwriting. And a new study found that three-quarters of British tourists would purchase additional travel insurance against terrorism if the price was under £5 a fortnight.

Maybe that offers an innovative start-up a decent hook to launch on, speaking of which I featured eight up-and-coming insurtech firms in a two part blog; and with Brexit still very much in the news, Nick Warner of Moore Stephens put the Aspiro VAT ruling under the spotlight.

From the Editor's Picks, I would recommend you read two pieces from former staff reporters Peta Fuller and Francesca Nyman, who now freelance for Post, on the subject of rehabilitation and non-executive directors respectively. The first looks at the progress of the latest Rehabilitation Code, while the second focuses on whether the risk-to-reward unbalance may put off competent people from taking on NED roles. Both worth a Bank Holiday read in the sun.

Finally, the Olympics may be over, but the success of Team GB continues to garner headlines, even on Post. Reporter Rosie Quigley caught up with gold winning cyclist Ed Clancy when he visited sponsor JLT's office and asked the inevitable question about whether he'd insured his medal yet. Watch the video to see what his reply was.

And so we come to the end of another month. I am going to be on holiday for the next three Fridays so someone else will be filling you in on what has been going on at Post.

Oh, and I almost forgot, Post news editor Martin Croucher came out as the latest Wall of Shame victor [or loser if you prefer] and next Tuesday we welcome a new reporter into the Incisive fold in the shape of Ryan Hewlett.

Zbogom!

Jonathan Swift